Hsieh defends his initiative on ‘constitutions’ platform

By Chris Wang / Staff reporter

Former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday defended his initiative of “constitutions with different interpretations” (憲法各表) and said the ability to manage cross-strait relations would be key for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to return to power.

Hsieh said on his weekly radio talk show that he felt sad that some of his party comrades disapproved of his recent visit to China, but said that his move has been welcomed by many others, as well as the US and Japan.

On the DPP’s engagement with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), “three issues should be deliberated — whether we should engage them, what position should we engage them with and whether the engagement would benefit the DPP in the future,” he said.

The need for bilateral exchange has been almost a consensus in the DPP, Hsieh said.

As for his initiative, it is a proposal to forge mutual dialogues while safeguarding Taiwan’s sovereignty and identity at the same time, Hsieh said, adding that those who opposed the proposal would have to come up with a better idea.

On the third issue, Hsieh said the DPP could not compete with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on funding, media advantages and administrative resources, but it could try to neutralize the influence and interference of the CCP and secure support from Taiwanese businesspeople in China, most of whom were believed to be KMT supporters.

That explained why the DPP’s road to returning to power would have to go through China, he said.

Hsieh said he had visited several opinion leaders, including DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and independence activist Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) since his return from China on Oct. 8.

Hsieh, who visited Lee on Monday afternoon for a 90-minute meeting, said Lee responded positively to the visit and that some media reports that said Lee was not impressed with Hsieh’s move were inaccurate.